Stepmothers sought for study on stereotypes

Popular children's stories like Cinderella and Snow
White portray stepmothers in a negative light, often as
wicked or cruel, and stereotypes like these are pervasive.
Anna Miller, a Doctoral student completing her Clinical
Psychology training at The University of Auckland is
interested in the ways that cultural stereotypes and
portrayals of stepmothers may affect women’s experiences
and their identity as stepmothers.

She has launched
an online questionnaire, which is anonymous and takes about
20 minutes to complete, asking stepmothers about their
experiences and the extent to which they feel they are
affected by stepmother stereotypes – be it the “wicked
stepmother” stereotype or any other portrayal.

It
is intended that the results of the study will contribute to
the body of knowledge available to guide parents and
stepparents in stepfamilies.

“Stepfamilies are a
common family form in Western societies today, and many
women are taking on the stepmother role,” says Anna.
“While there are positive aspects of being a stepmother,
reports from stepmothers also describe some challenges.
Overseas research has found that stepmothers are often
perceived negatively, and that despite the diversity of
family structures in our society there is still some stigma
about being a stepmother.”

“Very little is
known, however, about the ways in which stepmothers feel
affected by society’s ideas and portrayals of their role.
It is also uncertain whether stepmothers in New Zealand
perceive that they are stereotyped in any way, or if they
experience stigmatisation.”

“We know from a
number of other studies that stereotypes about race, age and
gender for example can be powerful in shaping people’s
expectations, behaviour and experiences. It would be
interested to find out how much this is also true for
stepmothers.”

The research team hopes that at
least 100 people will take part in the online questionnaire.
Women who are currently in a de facto relationship or
married to a partner who has biological children (aged under
18 years) from a former relationship are invited to take
part. Participants may also have their own children either
from their previous or current relationships.

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